In the early 1800s, the Cherokee Indians called the mountains of North Georgia home.

They built farms and businesses, and even had their own government and written language.

But as more white settlers moved into North Georgia, especially after the discovery of gold in the late 1820s, the pressure for the Cherokee to give up their land grew stronger.

Despite their efforts to adapt to white culture and even winning a Supreme Court case that should have protected them and their land, the Cherokee people were forced out of Georgia in 1838.

The tragic journey that would follow is remembered as the Trail of Tears.

(paper rustling) (gentle music) The Cherokee Indians had lived in the mountains of North Georgia long before Europeans even arrived.

They traded with English settlers and developed a thriving society that would become the Cherokee nation.

By the 1820s, the Cherokee people had a written language, a newspaper, schools, a Constitution and government modeled after that of the United States, and even had farms that used enslaved people for labor.

The Cherokee hoped that by adopting European style ways, they could protect their land and people.

In 1827, John Ross was elected Principal Chief of the Cherokee Nation, which he helped establish.

Born in 1790, Ross was of mixed heritage, spoke English, and practiced many European customs.

He was a successful businessman and skilled leader, but Ross's leadership faced an unprecedented challenge soon after his election.

In the late 1820s, gold was discovered in present day Dahlonega located within the Cherokee nation.

The discovery sparked a rush of white settlers onto Cherokee land helped by a federal road that provided quick and easy access to the region.

Despite the Cherokee still living in the area, the state of Georgia began distributing the land through a lottery.

And federal policies soon added to the pressure, with President Andrew Jackson leading efforts to relocate the Cherokee and other indigenous tribes out West.

In 1830, president Jackson signed the Indian Removal Act.

This law required all indigenous people living east of the Mississippi River to move out West.

The Southeastern Tribes, the Cherokee, Chickasaw, Choctaw, Muskogee Creek, and Seminole were forced to move to Indian territory, land that is now part of Oklahoma.

Jackson believed this was necessary, partly because of past conflicts with native tribes, economic interests like gold, and even his own racial prejudices.

But the Cherokee challenged their removal in court in Worcester versus Georgia.

The case began when several missionaries, including Samuel Worcester, were arrested for living with the Cherokee without Georgia's permission and were sentenced to four years of hard labor by the state.

The Cherokee Nation hired lawyers who appeal the decision eventually taking their case to the Supreme Court of the United States.

In its ruling, the Supreme Court led by Chief Justice John Marshall said the Cherokee Nation was a sovereign nation, and therefore not subject to Georgia or United States Law.

Chief Justice Marshall even condemned Georgia for interfering in the Cherokee's affairs.

The ruling in Worcester versus Georgia should have protected the Cherokee from being forced off their land.

But President Andrew Jackson refused to enforce it.

Then an 1835, a small group of Cherokee people without permission from the Cherokee government, signed the Treaty of New Echota.

This treaty gave all Cherokee land in the Southeast to the United States in exchange for land in Indian territory, and $5 million.

Even though most Cherokee, including Chief John Ross, opposed the Treaty of New Echota, President Jackson and Congress approved it anyway.

Finally, in 1838, the US Army arrived in the Cherokee Nation to enforce the treaty.

Led by General Winfield Scott, the Army forced Cherokee families into Stockades and began the long, brutal trek to Oklahoma.

This journey became known as the Trail of Tears.

While thousands were forced out West on this deadly route, about 400 Cherokee escaped capture and hid in the Appalachian Mountains to avoid removal.

In the end, more than 4,000 Cherokee and their enslaved people died from exposure, disease and hunger-including Chief John Ross's wife.

The Cherokee who survived were split between the Eastern Band in North Carolina and the Western band in Oklahoma.

Even after the Trail of Tears, John Ross continued to lead the Cherokee Nation, working to unite his people and protect their rights.

The Trail of Tears is a painful reminder of what can happen when greed, prejudice, and broken promises come together.

But it's also a story of resilience.

The Cherokee Nation survived, and today it's the largest indigenous tribe in the United States.

Remembering this history helps us understand the struggles native people faced and the resilience they showed.

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